Lang, Halford, Barnes chosen as top wrestlers

This week's Baldwin High School wrestlers of the week are Luke Lang for the varsity and Seth Halford and Charles Barnes for the junior varsity.

Lang, a 189-pound senior, continued his winning ways in dominating fashion by recording three falls en route to his Frontier League title. The team captain was untouched in his matches and improved his season record to 22-2 with 15 falls. He was dominating on his feet as he added to his unofficial

school record of 72 takedowns.

Lang has won many tournament titles in his career, but had never been able to capture a league gold medal. So that was his mission this year. In the finals, Lang quickly built a 15-5 lead with a variety of leg attacks, then finished things with a second-period fall.

"Luke is a fierce competitor with a strong will to win," said coach Kit Harris said. "He is strong, quick and very powerful, but he has combined that with some effective scoring techniques to become an all-around wrestler. Most importantly, he is able to pull a younger wrestler aside and offer some advice and support or some technique tips. He is a great role model."

Halford, a 160-pound freshman, and Barnes, a 215-pound freshman, ended their JV seasons in exciting fashion as they each placed first at the tough 19-team Burlington JV Tournament. For each of them, it was their first-ever gold medal in high school competition.

Halford ended his freshman season with a 7-12 record with five falls.

"He proved to be a greatly improved young wrestler as the season progressed. He came into the season having never won a match and his hard work paid off with a real solid season. He will be a team leader for us soon," Harris said.

Barnes recorded several falls last week along the way to his first-place finish and ended his JV season with an 8-7 record with eight falls, bouncing back from an early season injury that put him in a cast.

"Charles was a very hard worker, a reliable and durable athlete. He developed some good skills throughout the year and will be a team leader in the future," Harris said.